This pothole could cost you $500

Jonathan Kealing was on his way to the dog groomer Sunday morning when his car hit a line of potholes on eastbound Minnesota 62 in Minneapolis.

"We hit some normal potholes, then it got so intense. We slammed into this chasm in the Earth," Kealing said.

It wasn't until a stop later in the morning that he saw just how intense: The rim was no longer round, but flat, and the tire couldn't hold air.

After getting a $500 repair bill from the auto shop, Kealing took to Twitter to alert the Minnesota Department of Transportation to the situation.

"Dear @mndotnews: The potholes are so bad on Hwy-62 b/t Cedar and 28th Ave that it bent my wheel and trashed my tire. Pls fix ASAP," he wrote.

And given the weather's impact on metro-area roads, Kealing is not the only one needing repairs.

But with the recent 10-inch dump of snow and ice on the metro, road crews are more focused on removal efforts instead of rut repair, said Kent Barnard, MnDOT spokesman.

"Twenty-nine out of 31 days in January were snow and ice days, so it's been more difficult to get out there and repair them (potholes)," Barnard said.

State transportation officials estimate there will be about twice as many potholes this year as last because of rain, snow and freeze-and-thaw cycles, he said.

The good news: The St. Paul plant that makes hot mix, the material used as a long-term fix for potholes, opens March 4, and MnDOT will be there loading up.

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Until then, road crews are using cold mix -- which is a more temporary fix -- but will be putting crews out on weekends to try and catch up with all of the potholes.

For example, crews just put down 30 tons of filler in the area of Interstate 494 and Minnesota 100 southwest of Minneapolis.

Meanwhile, at the Firestone repair shop in downtown St. Paul, general manager Darnell Robinson said he's seen more cars this season with blown tires, bent tie rods and broken shocks.

"We've been seeing a little bit more than last year," he said. "On the high end, it can be $1,800 worth of repairs."

And the roads likely won't get better anytime soon, with extreme cold and more snow on tap this week.

That means another hectic week for the public works folks in Ramsey County, who are tasked with maintaining 290 miles of roadway.

"The people you need to speak to about potholes are out filling potholes," a receptionist said Monday. The 30-year-veteran at the department didn't want to be identified but was willing to say she's been getting a lot of phone calls about icy roads and impossible-to-see-around snowbanks.

February and March are typically peak pothole months in the county, she said, but the confounding factor this year is the snow and cold.

The county has been out filling potholes with cold mix, but once it snows and the plows have to go out, the mix is usually pried up by the blades.

That was the story in St. Paul, where city engineer John Maczko said it was frustrating last week to be filling potholes Thursday morning only to see them torn up that night by plows.

He said drivers are currently split between clearing ice and snow from the roads and filling the potholes. He said that more winter weather could slow the process even more.

"The people that patch potholes are the same ones that plow streets," he said.

A quick plea online for "worst potholes" generated a substantial list, with folks chiming in about Robert Street in West St. Paul, Fifth Street in downtown St.

Drivers try to avoid the potholes on Kellogg Boulevard in St. Paul near Seven Corners on Monday. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Paul, Lexington Parkway north of Randolph Avenue and Rice Street between County Road F and Hodgson Road.

"I suspect it's going to be spread out to a bunch of shops," Robinson said of potential damage. "It's bad all over."

Don't expect temperatures to warm up anytime soon.

Lows are expected to fall below zero every day this week and Wednesday's high near 16 is expected to be the warmest temperature through the weekend, with every other day seeing highs in single digits, according to a National Weather Service forecast.

Andy Rathbun contributed to this story. John Brewer can be reached at 651-228-2093.